Getting started as a fiction writer
Fiction is writing that includes imaginary characters, events and/or settings created by the writer. In this course you will study various types of fiction writing and learn how to apply various techniques to hone your craft. The course also looks at the nitty gritty of how to go about submitting a manuscript and getting your work published.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The content of each of the ten lessons is as outlined below:
1. The Publishing World
Nature & scope of publishing, types of publishers, how books are published, market research
2. Publishing Procedures & Techniques
Colour or black & white; film or digital imaging, types of printing, alternative ways of doing layout (eg. typesetting, paste up, electronic layout with Adobe products or MS publisher), comparing types of digital graphic files, printing costs, etc.
3. Desktop Publishing
Word Processing, Alternative publishing methods: Printing on a Computer Printer;
Supplying a "Master" to a commercial printer, or plublishing electronically (eg. Internet or CD)
4. Desktop Publishing
Software options, use of colour, black and white, use of graphics, putting it together, etc.
5. Illustration: Graphics
Line illustrations, cartoons, photos etc. Freehand work, Computer graphics, etc.
6. Illustration: Photography
Photographic Equipment & Materials; Composition; Development of Photographic Style Portraiture, Posing for Photographs, Planning a Photo Session, Studio Photography, Fault Finding, etc.
7. Researching
Types of Research (Exploratory, Experimental etc), Primary & Secondary Data sources, Planning a survey, Conducting an interview.
8. Marketing in Publishing
Understanding marketing & publicity –what makes a publication succeed or fail, launches, press releases, etc.
9. Publishing: Ethics & The Law
Public attitudes, accuracy of writing, bias, monopolies, media ownership concerns, etc.
10. Publishing Project
Here you actually publish something.
Duration: 100 hours
Aims
- Describe the nature and scope of fiction writing.
- Determine the components of a fiction story, as the first step in planning a story.
- Determine a systematic approach to building a fiction story.
- Develop your capacity to conceive fiction stories.
- Develop your ability to write dramatic stories.
- Develop your ability to write fantasy
- Develop your ability to write short stories
- Develop your ability to plan for success in the writing of a novel.
What Type of Fiction Interests You?
There are many different types of fiction; and once you learn the principles taught in this course, you should have a foundation to tackle whichever interests you. These categories may include:
Fantasy
The dictionary defines fantasy as “fancy, mental image; caprice; hallucination”.
Fantasy always includes events that are unlikely, if not impossible, in real life. It usually contains unrealistic settings, characters and events.
Fantasy is a broad term that can encompass a range of different categories including fairy tales, myths, fables, science fiction, and others.
Fairy Tales
Fairy tales are fictitious stories that involve romance and legendary deeds, where the characters include fictitious creatures such as fairies, witches, wizards, dragons, gnomes and elves. They are usually, but not always exclusively, written for children.
Fables
Fables are stories which teach a moral (i.e. a principle or rule to live by). They often include animals or inanimate objects that are personified. Aesop’s tales (eg The Tortoise and the Hare) are classic examples of fables.
Myths
Myths are stories designed to explain a belief, natural event or phenomenon. The word “myth” has evolved in modern times and has come to be associated with things that are not true but it originally derives from the Greek word mythos, which simply means narrative or story. Myths concern extra-ordinary characters (usually heroes or gods) and are usually attempts to explain or interpret natural events in a supernatural way. All cultures and religions have their own mythology, including the Aboriginal “Dreamtime” used to explain creation, the Christian stories of creation and Noah’s ark, and the extensive Greek mythology relating to its various deities and their activities.
Legends
Legends are stories passed down through generations of people, which originated so long ago that their truth cannot be verified. They may be partially or fully fictitious, but there is no way to be sure. The main character may often be real (i.e. he/she/it actually existed), and the setting may very well have been real but the tales may have been embellished in the retelling. They sometimes involve elements of the supernatural.
Science Fiction
Science fiction is fantasy that incorporates science or technology into the story. Often the setting is in the future, in space or on another planet; but this does not necessarily need to be the case. Science fiction can be set in the real world, but simply incorporate some “imaginary” elements of science or technology. It can even be set in the past.
Westerns
Westerns are stories where the setting is in the frontier American west; usually stories about cowboys or cowboys and Indians.
Drama
A drama is a story that stirs the emotions. It makes people feel tense at times, and more relaxed at other times; sad on occasions, and happy on other occasions. It is usually an emotional roller coaster.
Romance
Romance stories also stir the emotions, but are normally gentler than dramas. They may create the emotional highs and lows of a period, but the overall feeling of the story should be a warm, perhaps calming and satisfying one.
Comedy
Comedies are designed to make people laugh or at least smile. They can range from slapstick comedy, where the drive is physical conflict (eg a man’s head comes into conflict with a bucket full of paint), right through the black comedy, where subjects that are usually treated in a serious way (eg death) become the source of humour.
Horror
Horror stories prey upon universal human fears, such as fear of death, mutilation, monsters etc to give readers the thrill of fear and of exploring the taboo. Originally borne out of primitive fears of the devil and supernatural evil forces, horror stories often revolve around evil entities intruding into everyday life. They are designed to alarm and terrify while simultaneously exciting readers in much the same way as a ride at an amusement park might elicit screams of both terror and excitement. Generally, horror stories end with some kind of catharsis in which a level of normalcy is restored. This could be equated to the experience of a rider safely exiting a rollercoaster at the end of the ride. In this way, horror stories simultaneously unsettle and reassure the reader.
Crime
Crime fiction is a genre that covers a broad range of writing, from whodunits through to legal dramas. A branch of crime writing which is growing in popularity is one in which the writers explore the graphic and unsettling elements of violent crime (including lurid descriptions of the corpse, method of dispatch and autopsy scenes). The genre could be considered the horror genre of the contemporary era in the sense that it plays upon modern fears and insecurities (eg of being raped or murdered in an increasingly violent society). As with horror stories, the denouement generally involves a catharsis of some kind, eg the killer is caught, but this is not necessarily the case. In Bret Ellis’ novel American Psycho, the killer is never brought to justice, further fuelling the reader’s niggling sense of being unsafe in a dangerous world.
Suspense
A suspense story aims to keep the reader guessing. It must contain uncertainty or anxiety. The reader will be told just enough to secure their attention, but information will be held back in order to build tension. It will finally be revealed at points in the story which are beyond where the reader desperately wants to know that information. In effect, the writer is creating a desire, and suspending delivery of information to satisfy that desire.
Erotica
Erotica is literature that deals with sexual love. Theoretically, it differs from pornography in the sense that it aspires to an artistic aesthetic rather than simply aiming to stimulate sexual desire for commercial purposes.
